Fate's Recompense
by Hiyoukai-Mizuyoukai
Summary: After that night, nothing would be the same for either of them. "Hiei sighed. No, he hadn't been hit... Thank Kami..." ::Post Series:: Not a crack fic. Rating could possibly change. Warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: We do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, and are not making any profit in writing this. All original characters and story lines belong to Yoshihiro Togashi (All hail!) and Funmation. We do, however, own the plot and story line to this story (post series), as well as any OCs, jokes and flaming chickens.

Warnings: N/C, M/M, Hermaphrodite, Mpreg (kinda...), Yaoi, Gore, Adult Situations, UST, Angst, WIP, Language, Abuse, D/s, Fetish (swords), OC, M/F (w/ other characters later...).

/AN:/ Hey, Mistress Hiyoukai and Mistress Mizuyoukai here! This story is NOT a crack fic! It all started with one picture (Another on the Way by Hiyoukai-Mizuyoukai on ... Check it out), but eventually evolved into an entire story. We are working very hard on this and have put a LOT of thought and planning into this story and its plot. If you catch mistakes, please tell us! Our schedules are very different, so updating may not be very regular. But please know that we will get chapters up as soon as possible and that there will be NO discontinuing of this story! We are in this until the end (mostly because we've planned so much already...). Thanks!

o

o

Chapter 1

o

o

Hiei didn't know how this had happened. On second thought, he knew _exactly_ how this had happened. After all, it's not like he was raised under a rock. No matter, the problem remained that Hiei had no idea of what to do about it now...

He sat apart from where the rest of the gang was celebrating their most recent victory against a particularly disgusting swamp demon. All of the noise and laughter was muted by the numbness that had come to settle over the small fire demon. He stared listlessly at a spot on the ground in front of him, lacking the usual intensity in his glare.

Of course _everyone else_ could celebrate in such a carefree manner. They didn't have _this _to worry about…

They weren't…

OOO

_Hiei was shocked back into consciousness by the suddenness of a hand gripping his arm tightly. Growling as he remembered his broken katana, he reached for a knife in his boot instead, quickly stabbing the offending limb which then retreated back into the darkness where blinked a pair of glowing, hungry eyes. Without a second thought, the fire demon dashed off through the trees with the stranger in hot pursuit.  
_

_Honestly, what simple-minded idiot would be climbing all the way up a tree just to say "Hello!" or find a place to sleep?  
_

_Disregarding the fact that Hiei, himself, slept up in the boughs of the highest trees… Paranoia is a logical excuse to do such things, after all…  
_

OOO

His mouth felt so dry. That had been too close. While battling with one of the swamp monster's many thorny tentacles, he hadn't seen the other tentacle coming until it was almost too late. Kurama had alerted him of the danger, but even with his incredible speed, he was only just able to dodge. The blow would not have been fatal to a demon such as himself, but with the poison…

If it had not been for Kurama…

OOO

_Damn this man was __**fast**__. What good is it to be one of the fastest demons alive if he couldn't even outrun some random demon who had it in its mind to kill him? The shadowy pursuer was not only keeping pace with Hiei throughout the treetops, he was __**gaining**__. And __**fast**__. _

_Under normal circumstances, Hiei would never consider running, but his ki was already dangerously low… _

_When he thought back to this particular event at a time that he had __**time**__ to think, he found this detail rather odd, for he did not remember losing very much of his ki at all during his last battle.  
_

_Hiei gasped as he felt a hand close around his ankle in mid-leap, causing both prey and predator to go crashing through the branches, before finally colliding with the ground in a tangled heap. Though Hiei had the wind knocked out of him, his pursuer didn't even seem fazed. In fact, judging from the small amount of moonlight sneaking through the foliage above them, the man seemed to be grinning hungrily down at him with a kind of pleased triumph in his eyes.  
_

_Strange, how in the moment that happens between an unexpected event and a life-changing one, the most random thoughts can run through a person's head.  
_

_It was in this moment, after Hiei briefly wondered if the man pinning him might be a vampire, that he thought the man to be (possibly) a little handsome…  
_

OOO

At the moment, Yusuke and the oaf were playing their favorite game of "who's better", in which Yusuke always won. Kurama was busy binding his own wounds and throwing out a comment here or there to tip the scale in poor Kuwabara's favor at which point Yusuke would make an insulting comment that took Kuwabara slightly longer than the average human to catch on to. Then the carrot-top would start shouting, and the cycle would begin again.

The sooner Kurama finished tending his injuries, the sooner they could travel back to Ningenkai, and Hiei could find some remote location to sulk… and to think…

OOO

_Hiei never begged, but perhaps he should have. No, that would have made him even more pathetic.  
_

_Well, more pathetic even than hiding in the back of a small crevice in a cliff side, naked and violated, robbed of so many, many things…  
_

_…Some of which, he didn't realize he **could** be robbed of.  
_

_No… If anything, he was thankful that he hadn't begged. Of course he was even more thankful that he managed to find a dagger amongst the discarded clothes—his or the attacker's, he couldn't be sure—and slice a large portion of the enemy's side open. Wriggling free at the man's distraction, he had snatched up a random article of clothing (his cloak to be exact) as he made a mad dash for cover. _

_The crevice he happened across was a tight fit, just barely manageable for someone as small as he, so he had squeezed inside, wishing that he were invisible. However, his youkai attacker had not chased him as he had expected him to. It seemed that after the man had gotten what he wanted, he didn't feel the need to chase down such troublesome prey. _

_'Having someone stab you must take the fun out of it,' Hiei thought bitterly.  
_

_So he spent the rest of the night in the crevice… __**Not**__ thinking of the hands that had touched him…  
_

OOO

Kurama caught Hiei's gaze and gestured to the roll of bandages in a questioning way. Hiei gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. The redheaded boy shrugged and gathered his medical equipment in preparation to move out while the fight between the detective and the oaf settled down as they sensed Kurama's eagerness to return home. Kurama gave the fire demon one last glance as if to say, "Are you sure?" before putting the bandages away.

Hiei's gaze fell downward as his fingers traced lightly over the pinprick of energy emanating from his belly. The other day the orange-haired oaf had commented on the strange anomaly (though his words had been more along the lines of "something funny with Hiei's youki"), but at Hiei's glare Yusuke had jumped in with an insult to Kuwabara's intelligence therefore saving his friend from being lit on fire. Luckily Kurama had not been around to hear the psychic's comment. Little did Kuwabara know (and would _never_ know), he had enlightened Hiei of his own impossible condition.

It was even luckier that Hiei's cloak hid the slight weight gain. Not that he was _fat_, as Yusuke had so kindly put it when he had seen Hiei cloak-less recently, but he was certainly developing a stomach that made his once pronounced abs all but nonexistent. No, _fat_ was not the technical term for what Hiei knew his symptoms to mean.

As the group began to move out, the fox threw a concerned look at Hiei, who managed to pass the gentle caress of his swelling stomach as merely adjusting the belt that held his sword as he stood to leave with them.

/Stop that. I actually wasn't hit by any of the attacks. / Hiei told the fox telepathically. Kurama smiled in response to the news and didn't mention it again.

Hiei sighed. No, he hadn't been hit.

…_Thank Kami_…

o

o

/AN:/ This story can also be found on under the same name, and it can be found at (also the same name). The deviantart account will be where we will post any illustrated scenes or side comics for this story. ;D There will probably not be anything too graphic, but if there is, it will be on AdultFanFiction. So, always read the author's notes if you think that anything might have been... ahem... left out. Thanks!

Read/reply please! Constructive criticism accepted, flames will be used to feed Hiei's youki... and possibly to cook dinner...


	2. Chapter 2

**/AN:/ The authoresses would like to thank all those who reviewed or read our stories! Thanks! **

**GoodLuckMotherFuckers—**Why, yes. Yes he is! :3

**yuki-chan—**Well, we hope you continue to read! You are very right. Kurama is such a sly fox… pun intended… Ooh that was bad…

o

o

Chapter 2

o

o

HIEI POV

The woods of Makai were mostly empty in the sparse patches of midday sunlight that passed through the branches. Most creatures preferred to hunt under the cover of night, not that there was much difference between the two with the near-constant thunderstorms during the monsoon. This bit of warmth was a rare comfort to the stifling and oppressive atmosphere.

However, one black-clad figure dared to wander around in broad daylight. He walked the narrow trail between the dense underbrush, not his usual style in travelling, but there was no hurry today. After the mission that included the poisonous tentacles, Hiei had told Koenma that he was needed in Makai for a long period of time; he had then told Mukuro that Koenma needed him in Ningenkai for a long-term mission. This way he could disappear for however long he needed.

By the time anyone would figure it out, he'd be long gone…

Well, Kurama would be suspicious, but Hiei would just hope the fox would assume he wanted time alone.

He let out a small sigh. There was _no way_ he would let the team know what had happened, not to mention what it had resulted in…and then there would be too many awkward questions. He shook his head. No, he _definitely_ couldn't let any of them know.

OOO

ELSEWHERE, FROM ANOTHER'S PERSPECTIVE…

Ardat awoke with a groan. Here he was laying face-down in the mud, naked and in broad daylight with a headache strong enough to kill a small colony. The day after the full moon _always_ felt like a hangover. He let out another groan as he picked up the smell of blood…He wondered who he had gotten _this_ time…

He didn't want to look, but at the same time, he couldn't just lay there all day. Ardat heaved himself into a sitting position, wincing at some newly discovered—and nearly healed—wounds. Well, whoever he had encountered last night had put up a fight. He realized sadly that he was covered head to toe with all sorts of bruises, scrapes, cuts and other various injuries including one still large gash in his side, showing the victim had fought for her life. However, he also noticed that he could not see a body in sight. There were obvious signs of struggle in the dirt and broken branches above him, lots of blood, clothes, everything but a body.

He sighed as he put his own clothes back on. He liked to at least give them a burial… It seemed all he could do to take away some of the guilt he felt. Unfortunately she was nowhere to be found. He wouldn't remove her from where ever she had ended up, he decided, not after all the trouble she'd taken to get away from him.

Usually he would begin to remember everything the moment he saw the face of the victim, but seeing as he didn't have that, he assumed that he might not ever remember the event completely, something that he felt shamefully glad for…

How disappointing it was to learn that tying himself to a large tree trunk with wards, while at the same time strapping weights on his limbs, was not enough to stop him when the full moon decided to curse him with its presence.

'Once every month,' he thought to himself with a glum expression. 'Well, now I sound like a werewolf… No, I sound like some female.'

Ardat wrinkled his nose at the picture of "Ardat with boobs" that made its way into his mind. He was also simultaneously shocked (and disturbed) to find that female-Ardat was very hot. Anyway…

The easily distracted demon began collecting the clothes that were strewn all about. He might as well bury them, to show _some_ respect for the life that he had taken… amongst other things…

A lonely look crossed his face as he held the garments gently. How he wished so badly that he could experience the loving passion of a willing participant. He wanted someone that was very much alive, someone who he could hold; he brought the tattered clothing closer. He wanted someone that he could smell; he buried his nose in the soft fabric…

And recoiled in shock.

Such an unusual scent like nothing he had ever encountered hit his nose. It had the defining female scent that had made him track the wearer of the clothes in his crazed state, but it was undoubtedly accompanied by the scent of another, very much _male,_ being. Perhaps she had a close brother or a mate. Ardat shivered. In either case, it would be wise for him to leave quickly before he was discovered. A whispering voice in the corner of his mind told Ardat that the description of the scent didn't seem quite right, but he shooed the voice away.

With a shake of his head he neatly folded and buried the clothes and left.

OOO

For the next month Ardat traveled again, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and the buried clothes. He wandered farther north, eventually making it all the way past the territories of the three kings. By this time, a full moon came and went without incident. In fact, Ardat had not felt any change within himself during the cycle.

Though the sudden absence of the normal monthly "lunacy" was certainly strange, it was a welcome development in Ardat's mind. He found that not seeing the body of the victim had helped immensely, for he did not remember anything of that night save for the face… those red eyes…

Ardat shivered at the thought. Strangely enough, a _second_ full moon came and went in the same calm manner as the last.

And so it was that one and a half weeks before the next moon found Ardat lounging happily at the foot of a thick tree, conscience (mostly) clear as he munched on a piece of fruit… Stolen from the local market. Moving on…

It was as he and his stomach were celebrating his possibly being cured of his curse that a rather strange and all-too-familiar scent reached his nose. Confusion descended upon him, and his heart began racing in his chest. Was it the male he had smelled on the clothes that day? If so, then why did the female scent linger? It should have worn off by now… Perhaps the victim had survived. His eyes widened at the possible solution that his mind had come up with so readily.

'Am I really that lonely?' he thought to himself with a sigh.

All of a sudden, something clicked in his brain, bringing him to his feet and giving him the strongest desire to track this scent to its source. At first he panicked a little as he thought that somehow the curse was activating ahead of time, but after a few seconds of battling his inner self, he realized that this feeling was slightly different. This time he had a choice of whether or not to follow this scent. If he wanted, he could simply ignore the urge to track it and head along his merry way.

After debating for some time, he decided that he should follow. Although he was truly afraid of the outcome that his decision could have when he caught up to the source, it was still _his_ choice for once.

So, away he went as silently as possible until he came to a screeching halt; he then leaped up into the nearest tree branch to spy on a small dark figure strolling through the woods at a leisurely pace. He watched as the figure sat down on the bank of a nearby stream. Ardat craned his neck to see the face of the small youkai, and then stifled a gasp when his fears were confirmed. This wild-haired, black-cloaked youkai was his missing victim—his only-surviving victim. Ardat ducked back behind the tree trunk again trying in vain to slow his pounding heart.

What should he _do_? He wanted nothing more in this moment except to run away. He could do just that and pretend that none of this ever happened, just like he did all the other times. Then again, it had been easier before because all of those that he ran away from had been dead. There seemed to be an unknown factor here… an alternate possibility…

Should he approach her? Would she recognize him in the daylight? What would he _say_? What would _she _say? He took in a deep breath to steady himself enough to approach her, but it seemed that the intake of oxygen gave his position away.

What he _wasn't_ expecting was the _definitely_ male voice that said, "Show yourself!" accompanied by the sound of a sword being drawn.

OOO

HIEI POV

Hiei stopped at the river before him to take a short rest. The monsoon had ended only a few weeks earlier, giving way to a sort of summertime climate, which was scorching in the Makai even when in the shade of a dense forest. Normally temperature did not bother him, but he assumed that the pregnancy had something to do with his discomfort in the way of weather.

It was about a month since he had started out on his "disappearing act", and so far no one was tracking him. Either his story had been bought by both Lord Koenma and Mukuro, or he was succeeding in hiding his presence, a difficult feat considering his fluctuating youki. The point was that he was not missed quite yet, which was very good considering that he was almost out of the territory of the three kings.

His plan would not last forever seeing as someone (probably Yusuke or Kurama) would go to Koenma asking of his whereabouts, but when Koenma told them the story he was fed, they would turn to Mukuro. Of course, Mukuro would then point them back to Koenma thereby exposing the lie that Hiei had told them both. Hiei's goal was to be into the "safety" of the Wilds of Makai by that time.

'Safety is not something I should associate with that place,' the fire demon thought to himself.

Still, the territory was at least familiar, and he would be less likely to be found. Going home had sounded nice, but when he thought about it, he was not so sure that he would be readily welcomed back by the pack of thieves that had kicked him out for being too bloodthirsty. The idea of going there in the first place, Hiei had later decided, must have been brought on by the battling hormones raging inside of him. This river, in fact, was the relative border between the united Makai and the untamed side.

Just as he had taken a drink of water, he heard something like a sigh from somewhere above.

"Show yourself!" he said as he stood and drew his sword.

He truly did not wish to fight with the dangers that it posed to his child, but he would if he had to.

The figure landed before him, hands held up in surrender. He was fairly tall with tanned skin, sandy hair, and a slightly transparent cloak embroidered with hieroglyphs. Though different in the light (and far more handsome), Hiei immediately recognized the man as his attacker. After an awkward pause in which they just stared at each other, the taller spoke.

"You—I," he tried weakly.

"You just stay the hell away from me," Hiei spat as he tightened his grip on his katana.

"No, you don't understand!" Ardat began, taking a small step forward, halting when the smaller youkai twitched his sword threateningly.

"Oh, yes! You're right! I must have misunderstood," Hiei spat with a pointed glare. "I guess it _could _have been an _accident_. Tell me, where were you intending to put it? My pocket?"

Ardat reddened slightly, whether from embarrassment or annoyance, he was not completely sure.

"Now see here! If you'd just let me explain," he said, halting his progress forward once again as the dark demon before him tensed as if ready to attack. "And if you were going to kill me, you would have done so already, so put that thing away!"

It was at that moment that Ardat realized his mistake. Apparently this small demon didn't like to be doubted in his intentions. Red eyes narrowed, and Hiei sprang into action, strokes flying so swiftly that Ardat had quite a task dodging them. Finally, he pulled out his own sword, the two clashing together, and they left a ringing echo in the air as they leaped apart once again.

The two demons kept lunging at each other over and over again at blinding speeds, leaving sparks each time their swords met. The energy in the air began to audibly crackle and snap as their opposing youki collided, waging an almost separate war between them. Neither demon had landed a hit on the other quite yet. Every strike was skillfully parried, and every slash blocked with a steady blade. Any slip-up now would surely be fatal. Sadly enough, all things must come to an end eventually.

Ardat swung his sword downward upon Hiei, who brought his own sword up just in time to block. Their swords locked as did their eyes and remained that way as they became stuck in a sort of "push-of-war" contest in which the loser would likely lose his head. Their warring youki hummed around them, the sound rising until…

_Crack!_

Their swords gave way under the pressure and fell in useless pieces to the ground. In this instance, Ardat decided to take the upper hand. He formed a fist, aiming for the smaller youkai's stomach, and although the youkai at which he was swinging had a similar plan in mind, Ardat was just slightly ahead of him. Right before Ardat's fist made contact, that scent, tinged with something special, hit his nose. Almost in slow motion, he felt an odd energy emanating from his fist's target, and the puzzle pieces fell together with an echoing "_clunk" _in his mind. He barely stopped his fist from making contact, and (due to his solving a mystery) was taken by surprise when a hard punch landed in his jaw, sending him flying against a tree.

There was another long pause in which neither youkai moved. Nothing but panting filled the silence while they tried to catch their breath until…

"Dame! But you're a _man_!" Ardat exclaimed incredulously, his arms flailing about wildly before coming to point accusingly at the small youkai.

OOO

BACK WITH CIVILI… ERR… YUSUKE AND THE GROUP… ,

Yusuke sighed as he strolled down the sidewalk in the late afternoon, a gift basket on one arm and his wife on the other. He and Keiko had finally married after she finished college, and Yusuke's demon-slaying business, that he ran secretly out of his ramen stand, was no longer considered an appropriate job. So, Koenma recently hired him back as Spirit Detective, only this time with a hefty salary that not even Keiko could object to. With King Enma overthrown and Lord Koenma now ruling, there was no law against hiring demons to do Spirit World's dirty work.

In fact, the entire team had gotten back together, though Kuwabara and Kurama only went on necessary missions because they actually had lives that lay outside the supernatural. At the moment, they were having a party at Kurama's house in which the women would all talk about their… well, whatever women talk about, while the men discussed the possibilities behind the growing activity of violent demons appearing in Ningenkai. It was obvious that Kurama had suspicions about what was _really_ going on, but the fox usually did not share hunches. This get-together would be a great chance for the other team members to get a better picture of what was really going on.

Before Yusuke knew it, he was at the door of the fox's house with Keiko happily ringing the bell. Botan was the one to answer the door, and many squeals (from the girls), hugs and smiles later, all were gathered in the living room. The females, Shizuru, Keiko, Botan, and Yukina, had already claimed the couch and most of the chairs leaving the men to fend for themselves. Kurama nodded to the kitchen, and Yusuke and Kuwabara followed him gratefully.

"So, what's up, fox-boy?" Yusuke asked as Kurama cringed at the nickname.

"I have no idea what you mean," Kurama replied slyly from his watchful position near the cooking lobsters. "I just invited you all for dinner."

"Great, Urameshi!" exclaimed Kuwabara angrily. "Call him names! That'll get him to tell us what's up!"

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry!" Yusuke said in mock-defeat. "So, really. What's up?"

"Wait, where's the shrimp?" Kuwabara asked. "I thought for sure he'd be squeezing for information even before we got here."

"I assure you, he hasn't," Kurama replied politely as he gently prodded and stirred the lobsters with a pair of metal tongs.

"Yeah, come to think of it, I haven't seen short-stuff in a while," Yusuke said thoughtfully. "I'm actually kind of glad about dinner now!"

Kurama gave Yusuke's wide grin a questioning look as he asked, "Why is that, Yusuke?"

"I've been looking for a good fight! Maybe after dinner, he'll agree to it!" Yusuke answered excitedly.

Kurama shook his head and smiled a little. It was obvious Yusuke was in need of an outlet for his pent-up energy. He could only survive so long with the boring battles against low-class troublemakers without going completely insane.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Yusuke, but I don't believe that Hiei will be joining us," Kurama said.

There was silence, save for the slight hissing noises, as Kurama started lifting the lobsters out of the pot one by one.

"Well, leave it to Hiei to rain on my parade," Yusuke finally sighed, his good mood significantly hampered.

"Come to think of it, I haven't sensed him around in a while," Kuwabara added thoughtfully.

"And you probably won't for a very long time, I think," Kurama whispered to himself, unheard over the noises that their dinner was making.

"Huh? I didn't catch that. What'd you say?" Kuwabara asked.

"Ah, I was saying that dinner will be ready in no time," Kurama said in a calm tone.

"Right," Yusuke said, eyeing the fox suspiciously. "Back to the subject that _someone _distracted us from, we were asking what information you've picked up on recently."

"Yes, these missions have been troubling me," Kurama nodded as he began to prepare the butter sauce. "And it is not because it interferes with my work schedule, either."

"It doesn't feel right to me," Kuwabara agreed. "I don't know what's up, so we were kind of hoping you might clue us in on some stuff. You know, shed some light."

"I'm sorry to say that I don't have very much information at all," Kurama said.

"Aw, c'mon K'rama!" Yusuke managed to whine around the stolen biscuit in his mouth.

"I know you have connections! Hiei does too," Kuwabara urged. "Between the two of you, there has to be_ something_ that you know."

"Actually, I have spoken to Hiei just as little as you have," Kurama sighed. "If you have not sensed him, then it is very likely that he has not even returned to Ningenkai since we all saw him a month ago."

When he saw Yusuke and Kuwabara exchange concerned glances, he continued.

"If he had heard information that would benefit the team, he would have returned to enlighten us by now," Kurama assured them. "The only thing that I have heard may have no connection to the case at all."

"Yeah, I'll be the judge of that!" Yusuke said boldly. "I _am_ a detective, after all!"

Kurama could not help but chuckle, and Kuwabara snickered at Yusuke's habit of denying the responsibilities of his title at one moment and flaunting them the next.

"Very well, Yusuke," Kurama smiled. "I have heard quite a few rumors of a powerful foreign demon lurking somewhere in the territories of the Three Kings. I do not have any reports on what he may look like, but the locals can sense his energy."

"Hey, I'm one of the 'Three Kings'!" the detective exclaimed.

"Heh, good job for noticing that, Urameshi," Kuwabara laughed. "Shouldn't you have been informed?"

"It's not my fault that I won't have full reign until I go to the Makai for good," Yusuke snorted. "But you do have a good point. Why wasn't I informed of some power-hungry demon wandering around in my territory?"

"Like I said," Kurama replied, "the rumor may not be of any importance. For instance, I know that Bui has been wandering around in your territory for the past seven months without you being informed."

Yusuke choked on the remainder of his stolen biscuit before he was able to speak again.

"Bui from the Dark Tournament?" he asked incredulously. "Bui, the guy who completely deflected Hiei's Dragon of the Darkness Flame?"

"Yes, _detective_," Kurama said, though the sarcasm he used in the word "detective" was missed by Yusuke for the moment.

"I'm going to have a nice long chat with the guards about informing me of the goings-on in the nation that I'm eventually going to inherit," Yusuke sighed. "At this rate, I could be inheriting a pile of rubble by the time I return!"

"Yusuke, you worry too much," said the fox with amusement. "To stress an earlier point, if this demon were connected to the missions we've been receiving, Hiei surely would have informed us. Mukuro's secret intelligence doesn't miss many important things. Between her and Yomi, they would have known if anything connected to our missions was going on."

"That does make me want to go, though," Yusuke muttered.

"Look, Urameshi, your kingdom's not going to collapse just because some weird guy's roamin' around. There are probably lots of drifters in Demon World. Hell, I bet the shrimp was one of them," Kuwabara said.

"Nah, I do want to check on my kingdom, but I was talking about asking Mukuro and Yomi if they've heard anything," Yusuke said.

Kurama laughed as he said, "Yusuke, you just want a spar with Hiei."

"Maybe," Yusuke huffed, crossing his arms.

"In three weeks I have a long weekend off, so we can go together then," Kurama suggested as he finished filling the plates and handing them to the two other men to carry to the table.

Yusuke sighed, and Kurama added, "Perhaps if you behave, I'll spar with you this evening to tide you over until then."

A grin spread across Yusuke's face as the three of them set up the dinner. Soon, the girls had come to join them, and they began eating. Little did they know, Hiei was _not_ where they assumed him to be, and "the detective" would have to wait much longer than three weeks to spar with the fire demon.

o

o

**/AN:/ We very much hope that you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for the wait, but remember that this will NOT under any circumstances be discontinued! (We hate it when that happens) Hang tight, the next chapter will be coming soon!**

**Mistress Hiyoukai and Mistress Mizuyoukai **

**o**

_**Dame—no; it's bad; it's not possible; you can't do that (a general "no" answer)**_


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:/ Hello! This is Mistress Hiyoukai and Mistress Mizuyoukai! Sorry for the wait… The second half of this chapter had to be rewritten about three times. The first time was just sounding stupid. The second time changed the entire plot and flow of this chapter… Then the end was changed once again because Mistress Hiyoukai was typing at two in the morning, and the ending made no sense whatsoever. Even Mistress Mizuyoukai was confused… Now it has been fully toasted and buttered! Enjoy!**

**Thanks to:**

**Yuki-chan—Thank you so much for the review! Just for you, this chapter is even longer than the last! We do plan on delving in to Ardat's back story, but a little at a time… :D**

**Adalleria—So sorry! Thank you for reviewing anyway!**

**Mae Rose—Thank you for reviewing! We're sure Hiei enjoys the comfort (and huggle though he won't admit it… lol)**

**WhiteCourtain—Thanks for the review! Yes, we will continue! We have put too much work and thought into this to discontinue it! **

**Also thanks to YOU (the one reading this right now), and anyone else who has put us on story-alert, author-alert, favorites, etc.**

**Now where did we leave off… Oh yes!**

OOO

OOO

"But you're a _man_!" Ardat exclaimed incredulously, pointing an accusing finger at the fire demon.

Ardat could not help but feel angry, confused… and, strangely enough, a little betrayed. What his eyes told him and what his senses had revealed were conflicting in such a way that was not logically possible. One of the two had to be lying to him.

A pregnant pause stretched between them… 'What an unfortunate choice of wording for my thoughts,' Ardat thought half-sarcastically to himself.

After Hiei got over the initial shock of the man's statement he smartly replied, "Well, I am _technically_ a hermaphrodite, as you so _kindly _helped me to discover."

"What?" Ardat practically squeaked. He quickly 'manned up' his voice (though it did not lose its panicked quality) as he continued, "No, no, no. Don't play this shit with me!"

He advanced on the smaller youkai, jabbing a finger at him as he next spoke, "You're an energy manipulator!"

"What?" Hiei said, confused at the sudden change in the taller man's demeanor.

"I don't know what you're playing at or what you're trying to accomplish, but I'm not going to fall for it," Ardat hissed.

This only served to confuse and infuriate Hiei even further. "You think this is some sort of sick game?"

"What are you after?" Ardat lunged, grabbing a startled Hiei by the throat, but not squeezing hard enough to cut off any air supply.

Ardat's eyes widened, giving way to a hint of madness behind them. "You know don't you?"

"I don't—" Hiei tried, but he stopped speaking as the hand locked at his throat tightened slightly.

"Tell me what you know!" Ardat snarled.

The snapping of a twig from somewhere beside them caught both of the demons' attention. From the forest hopped a small furry rodent of some sort that, upon catching sight of what it had stumbled upon, scampered back into the underbrush. The spell was broken, and Hiei raised his temperature threateningly, causing Ardat to snap out of his rage and release his grip.

"You can tell the Collector that I don't have it, and the next messenger he sends I _will_ kill," Ardat spat, and the next second he was gone.

Hiei blinked at the odd behavior, now completely alone again. Apparently, some sexually confused rapist believed that for some unexplainable reason Hiei had imitated the energy patterns of a pregnant youkai, had copied the scent of his last victim and was working for an evil mastermind trying to collect something valuable from him. This was certainly unexpected.

Hiei looked to the far side of the river and back towards the Kings' territories. Originally, his setting out by himself had been an urge that he had decided was necessary to act upon; it was a strange instinct that made little sense… yet he listened to it. He had figured that while he was out, he would attempt to find the reason behind his current condition, not to mention other necessary information about what to do with a child once it came. Now, he was reminded of the troubling missions that the Tantei had been dealing with recently.

"The Collector, huh?" Hiei said quietly to himself.

Since he had told Koenma and Mukuro that he was going on a mission that included finding information that could connect the suspicious attacks anyways, he supposed that it wouldn't hurt to do exactly that…

First, he would have to replace his weapon, and then he could begin his search. With a slight smirk in place, he dropped the useless sword hilt and crossed the river into the Wilds, unaware of the eyes that had opened on a nearby tree that were silently watching him.

OOO

Ardat continued to speed back into the territory of the Three Kings, silently seething. He knew the Collector was among the sneakiest scum of the Makai, but he didn't think that the man would sink so low as to actually lure him in with the scent of a recent victim. Then the messenger had the _nerve_ to make him honestly think that he could be the mystery victim by imitating her looks and producing a false signature to make his instincts kick in, stopping his attack that would have stolen a great amount of youki from his opponent.

The Collector was trying to toy with his emotions so that eventually he would give in. Ardat was not willing to donate anything to enhance the faceless madman's powers. He could not pinpoint why, but for some reason, the mystery of the Collector's motives greatly unnerved him.

He came to an abrupt stop in a clearing the moment he felt a massive energy signal come to meet him.

"Yo," came a voice as a demon stepped slowly out of the shadows.

"Mukuro, I presume," he said, staring at the female figure whose mangled right side was concealed almost completely. "I'm not surprised. I am in your territory after all."

"Ah, yes," Mukuro replied. "Ardat. What an interesting name, even for a foreign demon. Middle Eastern? Indian?" The king glanced down at Ardat's cloak. "Or Egyptian, perhaps?"

"How do you know my name?" Ardat asked warily.

"My informants are quite widespread," Mukuro responded in a bored manner. "I do like Egypt. The ancient mythology is quite intriguing, not to mention the hieroglyphs look cool."

"What do you want?" Ardat asked. He did not know exactly how much more Mukuro knew about him that she was not letting on, but none of the kings, save the Mazoku, would come out just to talk to him for no good reason.

"Ah, are you impatient because you don't know what I want, or is it because you discovered a bit of information that upsets you?" Mukuro asked casually.

Ardat gave her a pointed glare. "I don't know what you mean."

"You just spoke with Hiei, did you not?" Mukuro questioned. When she received no answer, she went on, "I can smell him."

"Hiei?" Ardat asked after learning the short youkai's name, his heart speeding up nervously at how well-informed the Lord of Alaric was.

Mukuro smirked. "Yes. Short, dark, spiky hair, bad attitude. But of course you two have already met."

Ardat glared harder at her falsely amused tone.

"I assume your second meeting didn't go much better?" she questioned at Ardat's silence.

Ardat spoke through clenched teeth, "With all due respect, I'm kind of in a hurry, so if there isn't any point to whatever game you're playing—"

"_With all due respect_, whatever you need so desperately to do can wait," Mukuro snapped suddenly, an inferno flashing behind her eyes. "You're lucky that I haven't killed you for defiling my heir in such a manner."

Ardat found that it was possible to nearly choke on his own tongue. In a mere hour or so, his day had gone from absolutely perfect to potentially the worst situation he could imagine.

"However, considering your circumstances, I have come up with an alternate form of punishment, one that I will find most amusing," Mukuro went on. "You will keep a _very_ close eye on Hiei for me and protect him with your life."

The irritation that Ardat had fought so hard to keep in check multiplied and surfaced. "What gives you the right to order me around? I'm not one of your citizens. He's your heir, so he's your problem. I'm not here to babysit."

In the blink of an eye, Mukuro had Ardat pinned by the throat against a tree and energy charging in her right hand.

"I'm not giving you a choice," she hissed venomously.

The energy in her hand turned black, and she slammed it into his chest with such force that Ardat feared he would suffocate. Surprisingly, though he was experiencing mild discomfort, the attack was not painful. A tingling spread from the point of impact on his chest through his limbs, and then the sensation quickly faded. Mukuro still held him fast to the tree.

"It is a spell I thought to be appropriate. This will allow me to track your movement," she said.

"Somehow I doubt that's all it does," Ardat ground out suspiciously.

Mukuro's response was a fanged smirk. "How right you are, but if you behave, you won't have to worry about the other things that it can do."

Sensing there was more for the demon Lord to say, Ardat bit back a sarcastic comment.

"This spell is not the only reason you will want to do as I say," she said. "I trust you have been enjoying your freedom the past two moons. I wonder if you know why? Let me give you a little clue…

"Hiei, like the average unmated pregnant female youkai, is driven to wander to a place that he feels is safe, probably somewhere near where he was raised. Though he is by no means defenseless, many youkai will seek him out because of the scent of his pregnancy hormones. You do know what this means, I assume."

Ardat clenched his jaw in confirmation. Male youkai driven by instinct would try to claim the child and female as their own, or they would kill the unborn child to make the female go back into heat. This primitive instinct showed most clearly in the unintelligent lower classes since most high class demons had the ability to control these primal urges… most of the time. There were still some cases of powerful demons that did not see the harm with acting upon this particular instinct, seeing as they were at the top of the food chain anyways.

"Given his power level, it is very unlikely that any youkai would be able to even get close to him," she continued. "However, Hiei doesn't seem to have the best of luck, obviously."

"How is this supposed to be a clue for me?" Ardat asked, more than a little annoyed with the way the Lord would not directly answer any of his questions.

"It would be in your best interest to protect Hiei from these youkai, if not for his sake, then for your child's," she said. "The purpose of your curse is to ensure that you produce at least one child. Perhaps you would like to take a guess at what would happen if the child is killed or claimed by another."

At this point, Mukuro released him though he did not move. There was really only one choice for him, and that was to do as Mukuro suggested. Seeing that she had accomplished her goal, she turned to leave, pausing at the edge of the tree line.

"Hiei is under the impression that he is a permanently tainted being, and he will do anything to convince you that this is the truth," Mukuro said over her shoulder.

Then she was gone, leaving Ardat to decide what exactly he wanted to do from there…

OOO

MEANWHILE, IN THE NINGENKAI…

The three men slumped on the couches in the sitting room, full from the delicious meal that Kurama had so kindly provided, while the women still continued to chat amongst themselves cheerfully. Every now and then, Yusuke noticed that the women would begin whispering amongst themselves excitedly, break into a fit of giggles, and repeat. He didn't need his demonically enhanced hearing to know what they were talking about.

For a while now, Keiko had been pestering Yusuke for a baby; though the detective loved his wife very much, he was not entirely sure that he was ready for that kind of responsibility. After all, he and Keiko were just now married and able to fully enjoy each other; he didn't want to rush into things. Nevertheless, it still made his heart ache each time she 'ooh'-ed and 'aww'-ed over the baby items in stores… or asked to view women's children in their strollers… or sprayed their own house with baby-powder scent….. or other things…

…Including refusing to take 'the wretched pill', making it a point to seduce Yusuke during the peak of fertility in her ovulation cycle (which she marked on their kitchen calendar), and conveniently 'misplacing' condoms or other forms of protection right before each of these encounters.

And when she did not conceive after all of her efforts, she blamed Yusuke for 'not trying hard enough'…

…Which was partially true. As it turned out, Yusuke had bought pills of his own, disguised in a tic-tac can to combat her assaults. Sure, the thought of producing 'swimmer-less' sperm was both disturbing and a little sad to him, but at least he could buy some time to mentally prepare himself for the inevitable.

Right now was not the right time for a baby, Yusuke knew. His instincts told him so. Every time he considered it, something nagged him in the back of his mind, reminding him of the ever increasing missions that Koenma was sending the team on. Something was just wrong with these occurrences, and he was sure that (like all the times before) they would eventually find out all of the evil mastermind's plans at a point when it was almost too late to stop the world from falling into chaos.

Through the lull of after-dinner bliss, the beeping of a cell phone was heard.

Not a cell phone, but a communication mirror was pulled out of Boton's pocket and flipped open in a routine manner. It was very rare that any of her visits went uninterrupted.

"Hello, Koenma-sama! Boton here!" she chirped.

"I trust that you are enjoying your little party?" Koenma asked.

"You really should have come," Boton said with an almost taunting tone. "Dinner was _so_ delicious."

"Not that I didn't want to," Koenma said stiffly, "but I was _rather_ busy with _very_ important matters."

"What's up, binky-breath?" Yusuke asked.

Koenma's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at the nick-name that he was given (despite adopting his adult form permanently), but he ignored the disrespect for the most part. There were graver matters at hand.

"It seems that some trouble-makers are, once again, in the Ningenkai," Koenma sighed. "They are man-eaters."

Glances were exchanged amongst the team members. Man-eaters in the Ningenkai were never very good, seeing as just walking down the average sidewalk would be like a free buffet. The only thing these illegal demons had to decide now was what they were in the mood for. Chinese, Japanese, or perhaps some foreign food like Spanish or American?

Luckily, since the Makai Tournaments had begun acting as elections for Emperor of Makai, some of the main rules had remained in place through all of the rulers' terms. One such rule was that if a demon must eat human flesh to survive, eat someone that the human race could live without, such as criminals. This did cause human detective agencies to be baffled at how certain mass murderers could all of a sudden seem to just disappear and never be heard of again, but mysteries were part of human life, the Reikai supposed.

The only man-eaters that the Tantei were called to track down were the malevolent kind that killed innocents and rare cases… until recently.

"Where?" Yusuke said, anger flashing in his eyes. Though he could accept it as one of the cruel facts of life that some demons must eat humans in order to survive, they weren't many (because most of them had died while the Kekkai had blocked their access to Ningenkai), and there was no excuse in his mind for going after some innocent civilian when killing a criminal for breakfast was just as easy.

"Just outside of town," Koenma replied. "I'm sending you the coordinates now."

"Got it!" Boton exclaimed once her communicator had beeped at receiving the message.

"Good luck," Koenma said before closing his end of the line.

"That's all the way across town!" Kuwabara cried incredulously.

"Yeah, I think that's part of their plan, smart one," Yusuke grumbled as he and the two other men (and one grim reaper) made their way out of the door swiftly, the women hastily wishing them luck.

'This evening just couldn't last, could it,' Kurama mentally sighed. He really did miss the scathing telepathic reply that the absent fire youkai would have sent his way, had he been present.

OOO

MEANWHILE, WHILE THE TANTEI ARE ON THEIR WAY DOWNTOWN…

"Common! Ow! Damn it! _Damn_ it!" Hiei grouched and grumbled as he tried to start a fire.

For some reason, his fire ki was not cooperating enough for him to set the small pile of wood aflame. He had settled in a cave for the night knowing that the heat of the day would not last. During this time of year, daytime was scorching while night temperatures plummeted drastically. Due to his ki not cooperating, he had decided that it would be best to start a fire just in case he needed it.

His inability to let loose a even spark puzzled him seeing as just earlier that day he possessed the power to potentially burn his attacker (whom he had now dubbed the 'sexually disturbed man') severely.

"Aw, _shit_," he practically moaned, looking at the result of his latest attempt at conjuring flames.

He stared in both annoyance and fascination at the now frozen kindling decorated with diamond-like frost.

'Well, now I know that I have _some_ Koorime traits,' the Hiyoukai thought halfheartedly. 'Unfortunately,' he thought with a sigh, 'this is of no help to me, whatsoever.'

This certainly was interesting. If there was any research that could be done on someone like him (if there were any cases ever _recorded_), he supposed that he could find out what exactly was happening to his body as well as what other changes to expect… hopefully.

Little did Hiei know, Ardat was sitting in a tree branch quietly snickering at the fire demon's predicament. Sure, a pestering voice in the back of his mind scolded him for not offering help to the confused pregnant demon, but the snickering side of his mind that found Hiei's problem so damn hilarious argued that it wouldn't get cold enough tonight to actually _harm_ Hiei or his child. Besides, when he next glanced up, Hiei had taken pieces of flint from his pocket, producing a fair flame seconds later.

'There, you see?' Ardat thought to himself. 'He's perfectly fine by himself.'

Ardat watched as Hiei pouted cutely, clearly disappointed that the fire was not up to his standards. Ardat cocked his head to the side. It _was_ kind of cute, he guessed…

'Nope, it's still weird,' he thought back to himself.

Both settled in their respective places, falling into a light sleep soon after.

OOO

BACK IN NINGENKAI WHERE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS ARE HAPPENING…

The gang arrived at an abandoned warehouse in record time.

"Why is it always an abandoned warehouse? It's so cliché!" Yusuke complained, gesturing to the large run-down building looking as if it had hopped straight out of a comic book (minus any large tanks labeled 'toxic waste', of course).

"Well, they can't just eat somebody in the middle of the street without being found out," Kuwabara pointed out sarcastically.

"It was rhetorical," Yusuke muttered.

"Their ki signatures aren't very strong," Kurama said. "Still, I think we should proceed with caution. If these cases are connected, it would also benefit us to squeeze them for information."

"Yeah, you can take care of that just so long as I get to kick _somebody's _ass!" Yusuke said.

Kurama winced a little, remembering that he had promised to spar with Yusuke that evening.

The Tantei crept inside the building as quietly as possible to listen in on the demons' conversation. From behind some crates they observed the three grotesque demons.

"And I says we just takes 'em anyways," uttered a large green demon with a crown of horns protruding from his head.

"Nay, if the Master says it's not for our taking, it be best to leave it alone. You do what you please, but don't drag me into it. I ain't pickin' fights with that man," replied a hefty red demon with scraggly yellow hair that reached his shoulders.

"But surely he don't need them both! He only really needs one, after all," the horny (Yusuke snickered) one argued. "I knows for a fact—a _fact_—that one of 'ems been… _tampered with_ you might say."

"No!" the red one gasped.

"Aye, it be true, I tells ya," the horned one nodded. "Seen it with me own eyes. Got this for it, too," he gestured to a deep scar on his collar bone. "Nearly got me head chopped off by the guard."

The two chuckled sinisterly and took swigs from metal canisters they both held. Behind the crates the Tantei looked questioningly at each other.

"_Any ideas on what they're talking about?_" Yusuke mouthed to Kurama, who shook his head in response.

"You won't do well for angering the Master like that. If I didn't know better I'd think that you're the reason we're all 'ere!" the red one laughed.

"Human meat ain't even worth it to come wait on some wretched Reikai lackeys," snorted the green. "I says we takes one of 'em now, make ourselves a fortune, be gone before the Master gets wise."

"You're a fool then," came the gruff voice of the third demon, broad and tan whose voice had the underlying tone of stones grinding together.

The two demons looked toward the third with interest.

"If the Master had _plans_, he would 'ave acted by now," growled the one with horns.

"The Master has plans, alright—plans too complicated for your poor simple mind to understand," said the broad one. "You caught a glimpse, huh? Tell me, was it curiosity that made you go in for a look-see or was it that you just couldn't resist the temptation?"

The green one only snarled at the remark.

With a victorious smirk, the stone-voiced demon continued, "These matters aren't for you to know anyways. His plans must be perfectly timed and executed. Getting his hands on them too soon or too late would not be beneficial, and he needs 'em together."

Yusuke glanced to Kurama who nodded. The three Tantei rose from their positions and moved out into the open, making the three gossiping demons snap their heads around to meet the intruders.

"I hope you enjoyed that," Yusuke said, indicating the human bones on the floor a ways off. "Last meal, you know."

"Took you long enough, since I had time for dinner in the first place," the horned demon said with a particularly nasty grin, showing pointed teeth.

And they sprung into action.

As Yusuke traded energy-laced punches with the green demon, Kuwabara was fighting the red.

Kuwabara summoned his rei-ken and waited.

"A man of honor, I see," said the red demon, who pulled out his own sword. "You're alright for a human. You know how to fight like a man."

The human smirked, and they charged towards each other. While they were occupied, Kurama was left with the broad-shouldered demon, who turned out to be much taller when standing.

"You take pride in being trusted with more information than the other two," Kurama stated, pulling out a rose. "You must have high-ranking."

"So you recognize power," the demon chuckled.

"Actually I was more wondering what exactly you did to piss your Master off," Kurama said pleasantly, spinning the rose in his fingers to surround himself with razor-sharp petals that floated innocently in the air. "What was your offense for him to send you to your death?"

The demon growled, insulted at the kitsune's arrogance. The two began circling each other, the larger demon taking care not to come within range of Kurama's deadly rose petals.

"Or perhaps," the fox mused, sending the petals flying in the youkai's direction, "it's that you knew too much."

The tan demon easily dodged the red projectiles and uncoiled a three-tailed whip while Kurama copied the action.

"If he didn't want anyone knowing, he would have kept his secrets more hidden," the demon snapped, now engaging in a battle of fiercely flying whips.

Bright pops and cracks sounded between them as they swung and blocked with the twin weapons that hissed through the air like striking snakes.

"Maybe he planned it from the beginning. Since he planned on killing you off anyways, he let you find out about his plan," Kurama suggested, twitching his wrist to block and then twitching again in retaliation.

"Ha! _Let_ me find out? He told me with his own mouth!" the demon countered proudly.

"My, my… So I'm right. I find it a little depressing that you are so proud of being disposable," Kurama replied tauntingly.

"'Disposable'? My Master found me to be capable of killing you!" the demon snarled.

"I beg to differ," said Kurama quietly, eyes narrowing.

He wasn't getting anywhere like this. His opponent, though angered easily, was much too proud of being a servant to his Master. Kurama decided that he should finish this fight so that he might salvage _some_ clues from the other two demons before the trigger-happy Yusuke and oh-so-mighty Kuwabara decided to end their fight early.

The fox snapped his wrist upward, whip effectively cutting off both of his opponent's arms.

"Cowardly bastard!" the tan demon raged. "So like a fox to cheat his way through a fight!"

"So, do you mean to tell me that you have _not_ placed seals all around the warehouse so that should we win, none will be able to escape?" Kurama said cunningly. "At least we wouldn't be able to escape without severe injury, I mean."

The demon in question hissed in response, "You cannot leave, but I can."

"Then by all means, go ahead," Kurama said, a cruel smile growing on his face, eyes sparkling wickedly.

The demon gasped as he realized that he could no longer move.

"What did you…" he began until realization hit him. "The rose petals! They were just a distraction."

"Yes," Kurama replied, stepping closer to his now. "While you were busy dodging, I shot a shimaneki seed into your shoulder. Had you watched the Dark Tournament, you would never have fallen for such a simple trick."

"Cheater!" the demon bellowed. "You are filth! Traitorous filth! Nothing more than a sneaky Youko thief! Slither back into your hole now that you've escaped a threat, you coward!"

Kurama gently tucked the now ordinary-looking red rose back into his hair casually. That this lowly creature fancied himself a threat to _any _of them amused Kurama greatly.

"Your Master never expected you to win. He was counting on your death," the kitsune said past the paralyzed demon's furious curses. "I think I may be too hopeful in asking for you to tell me why he was so eager to be rid of you."

"I will not tell you anything, so you might as well kill me!" the demon shrieked, his yelling gradually turning into maniacal laughter.

"So be it," Kurama sighed, turning to check on his companions as the monster was consumed by a plant until he resembled what the ordinary eye might think was no more than an interestingly placed flower arrangement.

While Kurama was busy with the tan demon, Yusuke was fighting the horned demon… and trying his very best not to laugh stupidly at all the 'horny' jokes that came to mind. He was not sure that he would be able to hold off making such jokes (no matter how lame) any longer. The demon's cackling ground at his nerves.

"I can see why you were sent to die! You're so annoying!" Yusuke said through gritted teeth as he threw another halfhearted punch that was dodged.

"I'm dying? Well, this ain't so bad!" the demon guffawed.

"Whatever you're after must be something pretty good if you're willing to be killed for it," Yusuke said, accenting his point with a sharp hit to the demon's scarred collar bone.

The demon hissed in surprise as he stumbled backwards.

"An' if I did as I ought to, I'd be richer than the richest king righ' now!" chuckled the demon.

"I thought there were _two_ of whatever you wanted to steal," Yusuke said, ducking under a swing from the demon.

"Aye, there be two! An' two would be better than one for sure. But just one is all I be needin'!" the green demon replied.

Yusuke was not as willing as Kurama to trick his opponent into spilling the beans, so he tried the more direct approach and hoped for the best.

"Look, why don't you cut the crap, and tell me what you're after? That way I might just go easy on you," the detective suggested.

"You make a good point, I'm a dead man as it is!" the demon cackled, nearly scoring a hit on Yusuke's shoulder. "So what do you know, eh? You knows that there's a pair of 'em an' that the Master needs 'em together. That's all I got for ya unless you knows somethin' I don't!"

The demon continued to cackle until Yusuke finally wiped the smile off his face with a ki-charged right hook.

"How about telling me what your _Master's _name is, or what this thing is he's trying to collect?" Yusuke told his bloodied opponent.

"'What's the Master's name' he asks!" the demon laughed as if Yusuke had asked the stupidest question in the world. "Why you already knows it!"

Yusuke started. He ran through the names of all his past enemies trying to think of just who might have wanted revenge enough to be resurrected.

"Who?" Yusuke demanded.

"_Who_? You been sayin' his name for the last fifteen minutes, an' you're askin' me _who_?" the demon replied, howling with laughter again.

"Alright, that's it! I've had enough of this!" Yusuke growled forming a gun with his hands as a finger tip began to glow a light blue. "What is the Master's name?"

"There, you just said it again!" the demon cried, now incapable of fighting due to his laughing fit.

Yusuke felt a pang of annoyance as he realized that this demon didn't even _know_ his own master's name. To these demons, and probably more, their leader was known only as 'the Master'.

Without blinking an eye, Yusuke fired a massive ball of energy from his fingertip, crying out, "Rei-gun!"

The battle was over, and he had no more information than they could have guessed before the battle began. Oh, how the detective hated being stalled by buffoons…

While Kurama was busy sicking deadly plants on his enemy and Yusuke was beating the life out of a giggling idiot, Kuwabara was engaged in some brutal sword play. Though the carrot-top sported several slices and slashes on his skin, he did not seem to be suffering from such blows.

"A tough one, eh?" the red demon chuckled. "This is far more interesting than I would have expected."

"I don't know what you're after, but I'm not here to make good conversation," Kuwabara said.

"Aye, you're here to fight," the demon grinned, preparing for another attack. "But you may not have noticed that you're a bit more cut up than I."

"Heh, these are scratches compared to what I get from Hiei," Kuwabara smirked as he blocked several more strikes.

"Ready to admit to weakness, another human trait," the red demon chuckled as he continued to slash away at the spirit sword that, unfortunately, blocked all of his would-be lethal strikes. "See, I'd much rather be fightin' him than you, but I were assigned you."

Kuwabara's eyes widened in surprise, and his distraction earned him a nasty cut on the forearm.

"I don't get it. I thought you came to Ningenkai to grab a little snack," the carrot-top said, grimacing from the wound he had just received. "Now you're makin' me think you came here just to fight us."

"Aye, that's what one would think," replied the demon with a smirk. "Which reminds me… Where _is _your fiery little friend?"

Kuwabara glared and ignited a second sword in his other hand.

The demon laughed. "You don't even know, do you?"

"You've been keeping tabs on all of us," growled the human.

The demon just laughed again, leaving Kuwabara angrier than before. Luckily, the tall swordsman decided to exercise a rare case of emotional control in order to observe the situation. The demon's goal was to make him angry (and it was working) so that he would lose track of what was important. What the demon had tried (and nearly succeeded to do), Kuwabara noticed, was take a simple thing like Hiei's absence and implant the false idea that something was terribly wrong. Looking at this from a more logical perspective, however, told him only that the _Master _was watching their every move.

Kuwabara charged at his opponent, a new determination in his eyes.

"So what did the green guy do that was so bad? He did a good job of roping you in with him for the punishment," Kuwabara stated.

This (for some unknown reason) ticked the red demon off very badly. Having caught the demon off guard, Kuwabara managed to gain the upper hand. Soon, he was able to land many deep blows on his enemy who soon staggered away, clutching his bleeding chest.

"You shut your trap!" the demon snarled. "I didn' do nothin'! I knew we was _expendable_ from the beginnin' to that man, but I won't be dyin' yet, not at the hands of a filthy human, a half-breed _king_, an' a sashayin' blood traitor!"

As he turned to flee, he felt a thin, spiky object wrap around his legs before slicing them off completely, stopping him in his cowardly tracks.

"Forgive me, Kuwabara. I do not mean to steal your kill away from you," Kurama said. Then to the demon he spoke, "Tell us something we don't know, and I'll make this quick."

The demon was quickly bleeding out, but through blurred vision he looked upon the whip-wielding kitsune and the glaring detective. He rolled sluggishly onto his back to face the ceiling that was so full of holes that it could no longer be called a roof. The three Tantei followed his gaze to the stars above them.

All of the Tantei jumped when the dying demon burst into maniacal laughter while staring wide-eyed at the ceiling. Kuwabara was the first to gasp and point at the smoke puffing sinisterly from the still bleeding wounds. Quick panicked glances around the room confirmed that the same thing was happening to the other two bodies.

'I _knew_ that it seemed suspicious to have such weak seals around the building,' Kurama thought angrily as they ran for cover behind the same metal crates that they had used for spying. They crouched, huddled together, hands over their ears in preparation for the coming explosion.

OOO

A tall figure standing in the shadows of a nearby crumbling brick wall counted down in his mind as smoke curled in lazy circles around him. He placed the cigarette in his mouth again to take another drag, the end of it glowing brighter just as an exploding warehouse lit up the night. The man let a soft chuckle escape his lips as he put out the cigarette on the wall against which he had been leaning and strolled off casually into the night, whistling quietly. The only evidence that he had been there at all was an abandoned cigarette butt lying on the ground and an eerie tune still hanging in the air as the man faded away.

OOO

OOO

**Words (in the actual story): 5,930**

**AN:/ Thanks for reading! You are more than welcome to visit our deviantart gallery to see the picture that started this in the first place at:**

.com/#/d2so4kk

**It's not that good, but keep an eye out! We will soon begin illustrating and coloring scenes from the story (and maybe some extras just for funzies)! Coming soon: Ardat With Boobs. **

**If you catch mistakes in this, please alert us of this! We will not take offense! Also let us know if there is more of anything that you would like to see in this story!**

**Thanks,**

**Mistress Hiyoukai and Mistress Mizuyoukai**


	4. Chapter 4

**Mistress Hiyoukai and Mistress Mizuyoukai would like to say:**

**We apologize for the delay… Only now do we have a lull in activities. Please enjoy. You now have two chapters to read... Well, you will when we post the next chapter in the morning. That is all.**

OOO

OOO

The dust and debris from the warehouse's explosion began to settle thickly, revealing he twisted remains and rubble of what was, truthfully, not a really pretty sight, even before the explosion. In fact, if anything, leveling the structure had been an improvement to the scenery. The same could not be said for the three men who had been in the warehouse moments ago… Certainly they must have been completely wasted or severely burned or buried in bricks or…

…Entirely unharmed, squatting beneath a glowing barrier, looking just about as bewildered as a Trekkie at a Harry Potter fest?

The four boys looked around and yelped as they saw Boton standing behind them, her oar, now glowing blue, held above her head. The glowing stopped and she lowered her oar beside her like a staff.

"Heh, nice timing Boton! When'd you get here?" Yusuke said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I've been here the whole time, Yusuke!" Boton huffed, clearly annoyed that she had been forgotten again.

"Yeah, circling above us like always," Yusuke said a little too casually. "And ready to swoop in for leftovers once those demons had their fill," he muttered in an undertone.

"Oh, of all the—you're so—I just saved your life! The least you could do is be grateful!" Boton shouted incredulously, brandishing her oar so wildly that it almost took off Kuwabara's head… _Almost_…

"Hey, I didn't do anything! Hit _him_, not me!" Kuwabara exclaimed.

"It was lucky that you got to us in time, Boton. I wouldn't want to think about what the outcome would have been otherwise," Kurama said quietly.

"That was a pretty cool trick you picked up," Yusuke added.

"I've always been able to do that," the ferry girl said.

Yusuke almost fell over with shock.

"What?" Yusuke exclaimed. "You could have mentioned it before now, Boton! What about all the other times that I've been nearly blown into smithereens?"

Boton was about to retort, but Kurama cut her off.

"We don't have time for this," the red head told them firmly. "Whoever is behind these attacks is directly targeting us, and we need some sort of a plan."

The rest of the team nodded in agreement, and looked to Kurama for more suggestions… because Kurama knows everything.

"I think that it would be best to first combine any information that we gathered," Kurama said.

Yusuke was the first to speak.

"I didn't get anything out of that guy," he grumbled. "He was just a useless minion. All he did was laugh and fight like crap the whole time. I would've gotten a better fight out of a rock."

"It is the same for me," Kurama said. "My opponent was, like the others, sent to die in order to trap us in the explosion. He seemed to think very highly of his rank though. What do you have to say, Kuwabara?"

"I didn't get much out of it except that this 'Master' guy is watching everything we do," Kuwabara replied, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yes, that did bother me," Kurama agreed.

"What're you goin' on about?" Yusuke muttered.

"Well, you may have noticed, Yusuke, that there were only three demons when there are four Tantei," Kurama said.

"Huh? Since when is Boton a fighter?" Yusuke asked.

"Hey, what's _that_ supposed to mean?" Boton exclaimed.

Kurama sighed. Yusuke had his moments…

"No, he means there are four Tantei _including_ Hiei," Kuwabara supplied.

"But short-stuff ain't here, stupid," Yusuke said.

"And the enemy knew that," Kurama interrupted before Kuwabara came up with an angry retort at being called stupid. "He knew that Hiei is not here, so he would only need to send three decoys for us to attack. Had he not known, he would have sent four demons to the warehouse. Then he would have at the very least seriously injured us in the following explosion. Fortunately, he did not count on Boton being able to save us."

"Because she normally isn't of any help," Yusuke said under his breath.

Unfortunately, Boton was able to hear. "Oh, really? How about the time—"

"Stop," Kurama said firmly, with a glint of gold flashing across green irises. "Kuwabara, what else did your opponent tell you?"

"Nothing really," he said thoughtfully before he suddenly remembered something. "Well, he did say that he wanted to fight Hiei, but that he was _assigned_ to fight me."

"Just as I thought," Kurama murmured. "It is not the city that is being targeted as we first suspected. _We_ are the ones that he is after, and I don't think that I am mistaken in assuming that Hiei is being attacked in similar ways as well."

"That's weird," Yusuke said thoughtfully. "All of the other times, we've had to track down demons who were targeting someone or something else. It's never really just been about us."

Kurama nodded. Their strength had always come from their desperation to save others. Now that they were the ones in harm's way, who knew how this would end.

Yusuke developed a dark look. "Where is Hiei, anyway? You never did tell us, Kurama."

"I don't really know," the fox admitted. "However, either Koenma or Mukuro may have some clue as to his whereabouts. He likes to wander off, you know."

"I bet he doesn't wander off too far from Mukuro, though," Yusuke said slyly.

Kuwabara sniggered, and Boton said in a giggly tone, "Ooh! I know what you mean!"

"Well, I certainly don't," Kurama said, causing the others to pause mid-laugh and stare disbelievingly at him.

"C'mon, Kurama! You can't tell me there's nothing between those two!" Yusuke said.

"Actually, I can," Kurama told him flatly.

Everyone got silent, their attention firmly grabbed by the fox.

"Hiei has made it very clear to Mukuro that he is _not_ attracted to her in any way, shape, or form," Kurama said seriously.

"He told you that?" Yusuke asked with surprise.

"Yes, as a matter of fact he did," Kurama said, though they could tell he was leaving most of the best parts of the story out. "And I don't think that he would appreciate you spreading rumors about him that are not true. He expects that kind of behavior from everyone else. He shouldn't have to expect it from his friends as well."

With that, he began to pick his way out of the destroyed building, headed back towards the city.

"Ah, we really should tell Koenma about all of what we overheard!" Boton chirped, trying to change the subject. When the now moody group didn't reply and continued their journey, she hopped on her oar and said, "You're right! I should go tell him!" Then, in quiet, fake man voices she added to herself, "'Oh, yes, Boton!' 'Great idea, Boton!' 'You're such a big help, Boton!'" and zoomed skyward into Reikai.

As Kurama stalked his way down the sidewalk, Yusuke and Kuwabara caught up with him (after much tripping over rubble on Kuwabara's part).

"Hey, Kurama, I know you have some sort of idea about what's going on!" Yusuke said.

Kurama sighed in irritation. It was tiresome being questioned all the time. "If I knew anything about the one behind these attacks—"

"That's not what I'm talking about!" Yusuke cut him off, a firm punch connecting with the fox's cheek.

Kuwabara just stood off to the side in shock as Kurama stumbled before standing upright again and facing Yusuke. He brought a hand to his face to touch the already bruising skin.

"Hiei might not have figured out that the attacks in Ningenkai and the attacks in Makai are connected, so it's up to us to warn him," Yusuke said.

"He's not stupid, Yusuke. I'm sure that he can figure that much out if he hasn't already," Kurama replied softly.

"We all know that he's been acting funny lately… well last time we saw him," Yusuke argued. "I didn't say anything, but that last case that we had, he nearly got killed, like, six times! He's distracted, and it's either because he knows something really important or because there's something wrong with him."

"Yeah, I'm going with option number two. His energy was doing some really funny things last time he was here," Kuwabara said.

"I still say that it is best we leave him alone," Kurama said quietly. This was a little surprising to the other two men as Kurama was normally, though secretive, willing to comply with their demands if they made sense.

"He _always_ wants to be left alone! But I think he needs help right now, and I also think that you know where he is," Yusuke said dangerously.

Suddenly, Kurama's eyes changed from defensive to the clear green they usually were. His gaze fell to the ground with a regretful expression.

"I really don't know, Yusuke," Kurama said truthfully. "But I wish that I did."

…'Everything' is a strong word…

OOO

IN THE DEMON WORLD…

Hiei tread softly up the stone stairs leading to an obscenely tall and rotting wooden door which groaned ominously as he slowly pushed it open. Fresh air rushed into the musky darkness within the old temple, causing the little fire demon's cloak to swish slightly as he stepped inside of the doorway; he could feel the nearly overwhelming stuffiness of dust and paper pervade his senses. The humid air trapped inside formed an uncomfortable steam as it met with the cooler outer air. Temperature didn't seem to bother him much anymore though, as his powers had finally settled about two weeks ago after his first incident with the failed campfire. Although he didn't know anything about using ice powers, he didn't consider it much of a problem since he used his sword more than anything. He wrinkled his nose at the smell of the aging temple.

While the outside of the temple appeared dirty and in disrepair, the interior had rotted away in its own filth, the floors caked over in silt and encrusted with debris. He had to brush more than a few spiders off of his cloak when they had dropped from the doorway, clearly annoyed at being disturbed.

There were many temples like this one, all abandoned or recycled. Way back when (farther than Hiei could remember) such temples had been built by monks of sorts—demons pursuing knowledge and understanding. Since then, they had all been killed, for the Makai is not kind to those who do not fight. So, the demons had moved to unsettled areas, now the "Urbanized Makai" that had eventually become the territory of the three kings, especially Yomi's Gandara. The temples were the only things that they left behind when they fled, taking their documents with them, but those who were killed didn't have the opportunity to complete such a task. If it was history and records someone was searching for, the temples would be the first place to look.

Picking his way past the upset shelves and tables, Hiei eventually made his way to the back where, half-concealed by a moth-eaten curtain, stood a small doorway leading to a narrow staircase. There, Hiei knew he would find the important scrolls and books that had been hidden away below in an attempt to keep them from damage. He had stopped by several of these locations, but so far all of them had been completely empty or currently occupied. If this was a dead end as well, it would be no real surprise.

Fortunately, as he eased open the next wooden door, he was met with the sight of several shelves all crammed with rows of books and scrolls. He suddenly felt the need to jump for joy (which he restrained). Damn hormones.

Carefully, he began gently dusting off the name plates that bore the subject of the documents.

_Water Nymphs and Water Purity… Electric Energy and its Potential Uses… Incubi and Succubi… Twelve Uses for Dragon's Blood… Strange Sex…_

Hiei blinked confusedly at the last one then shook his head with a sigh of frustration. There didn't seem to be much of an order of the name plates, and he was definitely running out of time gauging by how his belly had begun to grow. Recently Hiei had noticed a new urge to find a safe place to settle and gather things that he would need to take care of his child. However, he knew that finding out more about what exactly he _was_ would shed more light on what he was supposed to do. And he hadn't even gotten to really find anything about this "Collector"… His priorities were more than a little confused.

Finally, after a couple of hours, Hiei had come up with some volumes he might be able to use.

_Koorime and Their Life Cycle_ and _Theory of Hermaphrodite Anatomy._

He frowned at the word "theory", but didn't complain. He might be the only known case of a true hermaphrodite existing, so a theory would just have to do. He righted a still-intact stool and settled down to read what the monks had found in their studies.

OOO

OUTSIDE…

Ardat lounged against the base of a tree in the shade. This was like what— the tenth temple that Hiei had gone to explore? And each time, the demon had come out empty-handed. Ardat had no idea what the little demon could be up to, but he figured that Hiei must not fully realize that he wasn't going to stay pregnant forever. Even Ardat knew that it wouldn't be long before the fire demon needed a place to settle in order to raise his child.

'_Our_ child,' a little voice told him, which he batted away.

'It's not _our_ child,' he told the voice scathingly, 'It's just his.'

'Not if you don't leave,' the voice replied. 'If you stay, it could be yours as well.'

Ardat snorted at the thought before realizing that he was having an argument with a voice in his head. Not a good sign. He had been alone for far too long.

Suddenly Ardat laughed a little bit, remembering earlier that morning when Hiei had gotten his food supplies stolen by a squirrel. Of course, Ardat had watched the squirrel as it had opened the bag of food and eaten all of its contents before Hiei had woken up and chased the animal around the clearing.

Though Hiei was certainly not slow, even burdened with a growing fetus, Makai squirrels were incredibly quick and slippery creatures with razor-sharp teeth and an extra, equally dangerous mouth on their tail. Catching the little beasts was tricky, and Hiei grew tired more easily than usual, not to mention that he didn't want to get bitten should he not grab it correctly. So, the little demon had sat down seemingly in defeat after chasing the creature for almost fifteen minutes. But then, as the squirrel had snuck back over to the food bag, Hiei lunged and beheaded it with his sword, a proud smirk on his face as he lit a fire to make a meal out of the pest.

Ah, what a sight it had been!

His snickering was suddenly cut off as he sensed multiple opponents closing in. More were coming every day as the scent grew stronger, another one of the many reasons that Ardat wished Hiei would stop his wandering and settle in a nice, secluded area. Not only that, but the farther they wandered into the Wilds, the cleverer and stronger the challengers would become.

He opened his hand and grew three blue-grey feathers before standing to meet the intruders.

OOO

INSIDE…

Hiei stared with wide eyes at one page in particular in his reading material. Numbers and percentages decorated the page. More concerning, though was what was being counted. Some columns were relatively normal, measuring birth weight, eye and hair color, and length. The ones concerning him were the numbers in columns marked 'Deaths' and something—faded too much to read—'Ripping' (a startling forty percent, by the way). And the numbers underneath 'Labor' couldn't possibly be right. Thirty-six hours? Forty-seven hours? There was just no way anyone could be in labor for that long!

It was only from reading these numbers that he grew anxious about the columns labeled 'Birth Weight' and 'Length'. Perhaps the older units of measurements were different from the modern measurements. They had to be! It would be physically impossible for him to squeeze a screaming baby approximately the size and weight of a watermelon out of… of…

He blushed. Speaking of which, the anatomy lesson had enlightened him of all the… equipment… he had never known he had. From what he could tell (and confirm) he had two sets of functional (though the guide said they wouldn't be) sexual organs—one male, and one female. Assuming that these organs were functional (well, obviously), it would also mean that he had mammary glands as well, though not pronounced like a female's because of the interference of testosterone.

He flipped the pages shut, rubbing his forehead. Why was this all making him even more confused? This was supposed to answer his questions, not make more of them. What was it Yusuke always said in situations such as these? Something about FML…

Hiei nodded and thought, 'Yes, because it stands for "fuck my life". FML, indeed.'

Speaking of his teammates, he couldn't help but wonder if he should have fought the urge to travel here, if he should have just told them and stayed with them. Or at least asked someone to accompany him… Kurama would have. Hiei shook his head. He couldn't have burdened them with this; they all had families and jobs to attend to without him making a mess of things, not to mention that if they left with him, who would protect Ningenkai? And besides, it would have been torture for Kurama, what with his sensitive nose and all.

The scent had already begun to affect the fox before Hiei had left, and he knew that this was the reason Kurama had started distancing himself. There had been an incident just two days before Hiei's planned disappearing act that had strengthened his resolve to leave.

Kurama had hung back after the group had split up after a mission to pester Hiei about his carelessness. It was something simple, just an accidental brushing of arms as they walked the narrow trail, and then the wind had changed direction to blow past Hiei and towards Kurama. Immediately, the fox had stopped in his tracks.

'Hiei,' he had said quietly.

Hiei had no time to prepare as the fox had grabbed him and buried his nose in Hiei's hair, taking a deep, almost shuttering breath which he let out slowly. Though this had alarmed Hiei, Kurama let go the next moment and stepped back with one of those kind and friendly smiles.

'I'm sorry,' he had said. 'You just smell so nice lately.'

No, Hiei couldn't make Kurama put up with him for… well, however long he was going to be like this. Eight months was Koorime gestation, but he couldn't be sure, considering the mixed breeding. So, he had decided that he should be ready for the baby to come at least one month ahead of time, and pay extra attention to what his body told him to do.

…But his body was telling him to find a permanent dwelling, which he did not think he was ready for. He glared at the texts one more time before stowing them under his cloak and rising. He had spotted a cave a ways back that he could take shelter in. It looked like it might rain…

A sudden loud crash was heard from a floor above him.

That was odd. He had sensed some demons following him earlier, but he had assumed that they would kill each other off before they ever arrived. Or at least the sexually confused man would. The man had been following him for the past two weeks slipping into range every now and then, but doing nothing. So long as he wasn't hurting anything and didn't come too close to Hiei's sleeping place, Hiei had no real problem with it; it kept Hiei from having to deal with the low class scum that were pursuing him. Although he was sure he had heard snickering from nearby when he was chasing that damned squirrel like an idiot…

There must have been an entire pack or band of thieves passing through who had caught his scent because they were certainly closing in now, and Hiei could not sense the man anywhere. Oh well, he would just have to do it himself and be extra careful…

OOO

Ardat finished off the last two demons and whirled around. How had he allowed himself to be driven back so far away from the temple? It seemed almost as if the band of thieves had planned this. Ardat snarled angrily as he charged off back in the direction of the temple.

The doors had been broken down, of course, but the room was eerily empty and untouched save for the broken statue near the door. Small openings in the walls with staircases leading up or down showed themselves from torn tapestries and curtains. Which one did he take? He couldn't try every one of them, but he couldn't just stand there. He turned as he heard a jingling noise, whipping out his sword as he turned.

Ardat let out a breath of relief. The sound had come from a bell hanging on a necklace around the neck of a bearded monk's skeleton as a breeze of wind passed through the open doorway.

"If skeletons could talk, would you tell me where he went?" he asked softly.

Another breeze blew through the temple, and Ardat flinched as the force of it made the monk's arm fall off with a crusty pop and clatter to the floor. Odd, though… how the hand looked like it was pointing…

…Pointing directly at a doorway with steps leading downward.

"Thanks!" he gasped with surprise and rushed off. He could have sworn he had seen that pile of bones grin at him…

OOO

Hiei was certainly glad that he had stuffed the important documents into his cloak ahead of time because these demons were certainly making a mess of the place. Shelves were overturned, bodies were on the floor, and so much shredded paper was in the air that the whole room looked to have been caught in a blizzard of confetti.

'How sloppy they are,' Hiei thought.

However, for what the demons lacked in skill and power (and intelligence), they made up for in numbers. Despite his unmatchable speed, Hiei found that the room did not allow enough space to maneuver safely to the only exit. Once he left this place, he would look back and remember how stupid it had been to enter a room with no outlet… and for assuming that the sexually confused man would keep the youkai busy.

If Hiei used his fire powers, there would be a chance to break through in the confusion, but seeing as his powers had decided to stay settled in the ice aspect… Well, he didn't know very much about using ice. That and he dared not use much of his youki until he finished reading about how it might affect the baby.

Even if he could use his fire youki, it might not help him much anyways. Hiei could sense that the leader was standing just outside of the doorway waiting for him. Though (judging by level of youki) the leader might not be any match for Hiei in a fair fight, this was anything but fair, so Hiei could not risk the life of his child by rushing into a trap…

…And at the same time, he could not fight these demons forever. He would eventually tire and slip up, something he also could not afford to do. But the leader was still waiting just beyond the doorway…

'Damn coward!' Hiei thought.

Unfortunately, in all of the mess and confusion, not to mention the increase in the numbers and strength of youkai coming through the doorway, Hiei soon found himself backed impossibly farther into the room. By the time he noticed, he was literally fighting from a corner cursing and trying to remember when and how this had happened as well as how to get out of it. And were the youkai coming at him growing stronger…?

…Or was it that Hiei was growing weaker?

True, the child sapped his energy making him tire more easily, but never to the extent that battle made him more than a little out of breath. Unless…

'It couldn't be!' Hiei thought, eyes widening.

The leader, seeming to find this a good time to close in, stepped from the doorway, flashing a yellow-fanged grin that clashed with his greenish skin, his black eyes assessing his favorable situation. Still, Hiei's greatest concern was not the way the demon appeared to be eyeing him, nor even the manner in which the ugly thing licked its thin lips as it continued to draw nearer. No, what Hiei found much more threatening was that with each step the leader took closer, Hiei felt his power drop, obviously being absorbed by the demon. Already, Hiei could feel weariness setting in as the leader continued to approach.

"Damned parasite!" Hiei muttered along with a string of curses as he felt his movements slow.

How had the demon just targeted him to suck power from without touching him in the first place? Perhaps Hiei could use the jagan to repel the leader's powers or possibly work his way into the demon's mind to disable him. Hiei didn't know what effect using the jagan might have on his child or its mind, given that the jagan naturally affected those weak of mind. Would the jagan recognize the child, and leave it unharmed? It was a big chance to take…

…But if Hiei didn't try, the child would die for certain.

As Hiei reached for his bandanna, the leader rushed forward, two more pairs of arms sprouting from his chest and the tattoos on his forehead opening into extra eyes, and Hiei hurriedly braced his sword for the impact…

…That never came.

Hiei felt incredibly dizzy, meaning that the parasitic demon had to be very close to him now. If he could open his jagan, perhaps he could stop the assault. He quickly realized that he did not have room to raise his hand to his forehead because of his scrunched position, pressed into a corner.

'Your eyes! Open your eyes, damn it!' he yelled inside his own head. His body did not seem to be responding very well, surrounded with the parasitic demon's energy.

Finally, he was able to force the heavy eyelids open, only to see that the body pressing him into the corner was not attacking him, but shielding him. Everything seemed to be blurry, but when the man in the blue cloak pulled away, the greenish blur was falling while the other blurs were running off towards the doorway. Had it not been so alarming, it would have been comical to see the world in this way where Hiei's eyes couldn't stay in focus for more than a second.

Words were reaching his ears, though they were so far away he could not figure out what they were saying. He thought he felt a hand on his shoulder, but he could not be sure… His body felt so numb.

Soon the light, too, slipped away as Hiei was dragged into unconsciousness.

OOO

OOO

**Pages: 10**

**Words: 4641**

**We posted another chapter too! Or rather, later today! is funky right now… We will fix any mistakes in the morning, yes? Goodnight! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Yes, um here it is…**

OOO

Yusuke didn't know how it happened. Wait… Scratch that. He knew _exactly_ how it happened. Given, the experience was rather hot, steamy and quite pleasurable… But that's not the point, damn it all! Once again, Urameshi Yusuke had fucked things up, literally this time. Keiko, known to the outside world as the polite, sensitive housewife who always kept her mischievous husband in line, had turned into a planning, scheming… There just were not words to describe the woman's behavior.

Well, perhaps her recent actions could be best described as those of most men's dream wives. She always wanted to play hanky-panky these days whenever they had at least five minutes alone together. Because of the dreaded "baby fever" (Yusuke shivered), Yusuke found himself becoming increasingly paranoid. He had taken a leaf from Hiei's and Kurama's books—sniffing his food (not for poison, but aphrodisiacs), glancing around the corners of hallways, jumping at small noises… Just general paranoia.

He had been so careful! He really had, but Crafty Keiko had pounced (literally) at the moment he had least expected it…

o

_ Yusuke sighed as he fumbled for the keys in his pocket, finally locating the correct one and lifting it to the lock on his house door. There was no time. He could never have blocked such an attack. He never stood a chance…_

_The key reached for the lock, but never made it, as the door swung open. He hadn't even registered the shock before a hand snatched up a hefty portion of his shirt in an iron grip, reeling him into the darkness…_

_ …Darkness where lips crashed upon his, and his troubles were swept into a corner of his mind labeled 'temporarily forgotten'. His shirt was being forcibly removed, and a hand was… What the- When had he lost his pants? The lips returned to his. Oh well… Sure Kurama was acting suspiciously out of character, the world was probably ending, but the hot, naked body pressing so closely against his felt so damn good._

_ "Keiko," he heard himself whisper in his ambusher's ear._

_ He shivered at the sound of her desperate moans as he ran his hands over her silky skin, kissing down her neck and collar bone until he finally latched onto a soft, pink nipple to suck. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him impossibly closer, begging for more of him, calling out his name in that pretty voice of hers as he finally decided to comply with her wishes…_

_ "Yusuke… Yusuke…"_

_o  
_

"Yusuke?"

"Huh? What?" The detective stuttered, coming back to the world of _now_. Not the darkness of the living room with that hot body pressed against—

"Are you sure you're alright?" Kurama asked.

"Of course I know what you just said!" Yusuke said.

"… That's not what I asked," Kurama sighed.

"Yusuke-san," Yukina said, bringing him to smile at her, as did all who looked into her kind eyes. "Are you sure you're alright? You look a little flushed," she said, placing her hand on his forehead.

"I doubt it's any ailment that you can help with, Yukina," Kurama assured her, hiding his amusement behind a cough.

"Well alright then," she giggled. "I'll put on some tea though."

"So Keiko's really…?" Kuwabara asked, as soon as Yukina was out of earshot.

Yusuke muttered an unintelligible affirmative.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later, Yusuke," Kurama said. "You know you want children too."

Yusuke glanced up at Kurama who gave a slight laugh and smile. How long had it been since the kitsune had let his eyes light up even a little like they did now? Kurama had lost a lot of color in the past couple of weeks, and outside of missions no one had seen him since the warehouse incident four weeks ago. The fox seemed so on edge these days, and with a much shorter fuse.

"Awwww, soon there'll be little Keiko's and Yusuke's running around!" Kuwabara said, clearly more excited than Yusuke felt he should be at the information.

While Kurama had faded into a dreary character, Kuwabara had become goofier than they ever imagined he could be. Ever since Yukina had agreed to start dating him two weeks, twenty-two hours and seven minutes ago, the man hadn't stopped grinning. Yusuke was really beginning to think that it might be a health issue, a serious one that Kuwabara should consult his doctor about.

So, between Sir Doom-and-Gloom and Mr. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Yusuke was not getting the best of advice.

"I just don't have a good feeling about all of this," Yusuke muttered, his stomach churning.

Kurama met his eyes, and suddenly Yusuke saw all of the anxiety and uneasiness reflected in the emerald pools.

"I know what you mean," Kuwabara said with a shiver, looking more serious than they had seen him in the past weeks.

One unanswered question hung in the air…

…What did all of this mean?

OOO

IN MAKAI… BECAUSE SURELY WE HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT HIEI…

Hiei awoke to the feel of something cool on his forehead. Soon he could hear voices, though they were indistinct and sounded far away, as if everything around him were taking place at the other end of a long tunnel.

"…Who he is?" one voice murmured.

"…not poisoned… together…" another blurry voice said.

"…iei…" a third voice said.

Why was none of this making sense? Hiei couldn't hear anything, and catching little pieces was not helping. He was no longer sure if he was hearing the words and voices in the right order. Eventually, Hiei decided to give up and try to go back to sleep. However, just at that moment…

"…check…" said the soft voice, if it could be called soft as warped as it sounded.

The hands that had just touched the supposed rag on his forehead dropped to Hiei's stomach where they began to press and prod. Alarms went off in his head telling him that he had to wake up, and fast!

Hiei's eyes snapped open, heart pounding in his ears, as he attempted to sit up and snatch the stranger's hands away. Two larger hands moved to push him back down on whatever he had been laying on while the voices, still blurry, began talking to him now. The only protest he could manage was a slurred, "Wha…?" as the hands continued to poke and prod.

Suddenly the world sped up back to normal, and his vision returned in a rush of color. The first thing he saw in front of him was a hand holding up two fingers. The first voice he heard clearly was that of the accursed sexually confused man.

"Hiei? Hiei, how many fingers do you see?" the man asked.

"Get your hands out of my face!" Hiei snapped, smacking the hand away as he moved to sit up again.

Two larger hands put him back in place, and Hiei sought out the owner (to cause him bodily injury for holding him down). Did nobody understand that he had to protect his child?

"Stay put. We are checking the child for injury," the man said calmly.

His voice was just as dull as his appearance. This man was humanoid, and appeared to be some sort of dog demon. His colors were faded like a picture that has been left out in the sun for too long, and his features seemed weathered.

"Truthfully, I'm surprised you got out alive," the man said to Ardat as if he hadn't just been restraining Hiei. "The spider's web was one of the largest I've seen."

'Spider's web?' Hiei thought.

As if the man had heard Hiei's thoughts, he said to Hiei, "Yes, you are especially fortunate to be alive. We found the spider's youki link that had been attached behind your ear."

'But when did he do that?' Hiei thought. Then he remembered brushing off all of those little spiders when he had entered the doorway… Just another way in which he had been careless.

"The child is fine," announced a female voice.

This woman was also a dog demon, and though she seemed to be about the same age as the man, she did not appear nearly so worn out.

"Also very fortunate," the man said. "Pregnant youkai are a delicacy among the arachnids, though I'm not sure I've seen one of your kind before."

It took a few silent seconds of Hiei glaring at him before the man figured out that Hiei was not going to answer his implied questions. With a sigh the man sat back in his chair. There was silence; the only other sounds were those coming from the fire that had been lit, along with the bubbling of something in a large pot that the woman was now tending to. Now that Hiei could see clearly, he realized that he was lying on a small bed set against a wall of a small room. A quick glance out the window told him that he was upstairs somewhere, and the lines of smoke rising in the moonlight showed that they were in a small village.

"Where're you headed?" the man asked, still staring inquisitively at Hiei with his sienna eyes.

When Hiei didn't answer, the man sighed again. Hiei decided to sit up now that he was unrestrained.

"How about we start off with introductions?" the woman said with a kind smile. When no one answered, she laughed a little. "My name is Aya," and when no one continued the conversation, "…This is my mate, Ino."

Even their names seemed as dull and simple as they were… This was going to be a long night.

Ino merely grunted at the mention of his name.

"I'm Ardat," the sexually confused man said, clearly trying to help the woman out. Everyone looked expectantly at Hiei, who didn't answer…

…So Ardat took it upon himself to answer for the smaller youkai. "This is Hiei," he said, only to be faced with a smoldering glare for 'helping out'.

Ino smirked, sensing the tension between the two. "These are dangerous times to be starting a family."

"Well," Ardat said awkwardly, "this wasn't exactly a part of the plan…"

"_You _weren't exactly a part of the plan," Hiei snapped. "Or _any_ of my plans for that matter," he muttered.

"Ah, I think I see where this is leading," Ino said, his smirk growing. "Did one night of passion create a little problem? How cliché."

Aya, seeing the rage that Hiei seemed about to unleash upon the other two men, stepped in with a bowl of soup, handing it to Hiei.

"I'm afraid it's not the best, but it won't make you sick at least," she said, serving more bowls of soup before sitting on the bed beside Hiei.

Hiei sniffed the soup before taking a tiny sip of it. Aya was right when she said that this soup was not really that good. In fact, it was so bland that it could almost be considered water with noodles. However, he noticed that it didn't make him sick as a lot of things seemed to do to him lately, so he ate without complaint.

"So which way are you heading?" Aya asked.

Ardat shrugged. He would say, but he didn't know. So far, it looked like he was going wherever Hiei went, and Hiei was heading over here, then over there, and every other fucking direction.

Hiei paused before he answered, "Hisawa."

Ino nodded, "You're not very far, then. We just came from there two days ago."

"It's one of the more stable territories," Aya nodded. "Are you going there to settle?"

"Perhaps," Hiei answered.

'Thank the gods!' Ardat thought, having a mini dance of victory in his head.

"We are on our way to Gandara," Aya said.

Beside him Ardat could feel Hiei tense.

"It would be a much better place to raise a child," she said. "If you would like to come…"

"I've seen Gandara," Hiei replied quickly. "It is not a place I wish to visit again."

Aya opened her mouth to ask him another question when Ino cut her off.

"Aya," Ino said. "Do not meddle in other's business."

"Forgive me," she said, bowing her head a little with an apologetic smile. "I got a little nosey."

Another moment of silence followed, only broken by the clinking of silverware on bowls.

"If you do decide to stay in Hisawa, talk to my sister Ayame," Aya said, smiling a little brighter this time. "She lives there, and she can probably get you a great deal on a house."

Hiei nodded, but continued to eat the last of the soup. A house… He knew that he would eventually have to choose a permanent dwelling, but the thought hadn't really sunk in. The concept was foreign to him. Growing up, the band of thieves who raised him _did_ technically have a permanent base, but the time spent there was so little that it felt little more than just another campsite. As a child Hiei had not really experienced such luxuries as electricity, which was quite common in most small towns and villages now.

"When you set out again, maybe you two should stay closer together," Ino said, setting down his now empty bowl.

Ardat immediately began choking, nearly falling from his chair. Hiei didn't say anything, but his glare made it clear that he did not approve of the idea.

"If you think there're a lot of demons tracking you right now, just think about how bad it will be only one month from now," Ino continued seriously. "Even settling in one area will not keep them away completely. I would tell you to consider a mating ritual"—Ardat began choking again—"but judging from your attitudes towards each other, you two are clearly not compatible candidates for such a thing."

Aya patted Ardat's back to relieve the choking fit, and Ardat set his bowl aside lest Ino make any other… insinuating comments.

Hiei growled, "If you are insinuating that I am not capable of protecting myself—"

"I do not doubt what you are capable of," Ino said calmly, though his eyes had developed a sharp edge. "I was merely making a suggestion that I think you had better consider." He turned to look out the window as he said quietly, "These are dangerous times."

The rest of the company followed his gaze to see the mountains looming above them at the edge of the town. It was only then that Hiei realized how far away those same mountains had been when he had stopped at the temple. Now they were no more than a few miles away. How far, exactly, had Ardat carried him? Did he meet Ino and Aya when he got to the town, or did he run into them on the way there? His thoughts were broken as he saw the mass of clouds that floated high above the mountains…

…Somewhere hidden in the mass of clouds lie Hyouga, the floating glacier.

"'Ice River Country?'" Ardat asked.

Hiei blinked in surprise, and looked at him. Had he just said that last part aloud?

"Hyouga is a floating island covered in ice," Aya explained quietly. "The Ice Maidens live there, completely isolated from the world below and from all men."

Ardat nodded, though he did not completely understand. There would be time to ask more questions later that Hiei would likely be able to answer… that is, if Hiei answered his questions at all.

"Those storm clouds aren't normal for this time of year," Ino said grimly, still staring out of the window. "Something's got the Koorime all riled up."

As if to accent Ino's statement, a long arm of lighting branched forth from the billowing clouds, lighting up the entire sky.

"Hiei-san," Aya said, placing a hand on his leg lightly from where she was seated.

He met her eyes to let her know he was listening.

"Hisawa may be relatively safe, but it really would be best if you and Ardat stuck together at least until you reach Hisawa," she said with pleading eyes. Despite what Ino had said earlier about not meddling, he did not stop her now.

"What's going on in the territory below Hyouga?" Ardat asked.

"Many things," Aya said uncertainly.

"For one, the Koorime are coming down in larger groups to trade in Koorishi," Ino said. "It used to be that they would come in pairs, or the older ones would come alone. Then all of a sudden they started traveling in groups of at least five."

"To make matters worse, they've become even more intolerant of men," Aya added.

"They weren't intolerant before?" Hiei muttered.

Ino smirked a little, and said, "Yes, but now they have started killing any man that they have not already scheduled to trade with, and many groups request a female to represent the male trader."

"That's excessive," Ardat murmured.

"That's the Koorime," Ino said.

"I do not know how they will react to your… condition," Aya said softly to Hiei, "but I urge you not to linger there."

"Hn, I never planned to," Hiei replied, looking back out of the window. "I have no business with them."

"Why do you think they're paranoid all of a sudden?" Ardat wondered.

"Not sure," Ino shrugged. "But we have heard rumors…"

"Supposedly a few ice maidens have disappeared in the last several months," Aya told them.

"People disappear in the Makai all the time," Ardat said.

"But, you see, this is abnormal for the ice maidens," Ino said, leaning back in his chair. "They believe they have a reason to be on guard. Someone's obviously abducting and/or killing ice maidens and they believe it's been the same person every time these last several months."

Ardat narrowed his eyes.

"Yet again, these are rumors," Ino said, with a wave of his hand. "We overheard one of the elders that we traded with the other day telling another that they suspected a cursed child they threw over the cliffs long ago had likely survived and is now preparing to seek his revenge upon them."

"Cursed child?" Ardat asked, not noticing Hiei go rigid beside him.

"It's not surprising that most who have never been near Koorishi have not heard of the Forbidden Children," Ino said, folding his hands. "They are, after all, killed immediately after birth."

"Why?" asked Ardat sadly.

"For being male," Aya replied quietly.

Ardat decided not to ask the many more questions that he had.

"Where did you get this information?" Hiei asked, barely keeping the anger from slipping into his voice.

"Our trade route goes by there every year, and we used to see this girl," Aya said.

Hiei tensed, his anger freezing over.

"Her name was Yukina," she said, smiling at the memory. "She claimed to be looking for her brother, though she could not describe him to us because she had never seen him herself. She's the one who told us the story."

Hiei mentally sighed, 'This world is just too small sometimes.'

"It's very unlikely that her brother survived if the elders disposed of him like she said," Ino huffed, rolling his eyes.

"It's okay to hope, Ino," Aya said, smiling at the memory of Yukina, just as everyone who meets Yukina does.

"Then maybe it's Yukina's brother that's causing this trouble," Ino said. "If that's the case, then that girl had better hope that she doesn't meet him."

Hiei's shoulders relaxed and he leaned against the headboard at the statement. Somehow those words were soothing, not for their meaning but because they were familiar. He could deal with words of hatred or fear. It was the unfamiliar statements of love and family that he could not process. Such things were too strange and complicated for his liking… not to mention dangerous.

Dangerous to him…dangerous to her…

…And now, dangerous to his child.

A clatter of pots startled him from his thoughts, and he turned to see the two dog demons packing up their belongings.

"We'll be heading out now. We were actually supposed to have left several hours ago," Ino said gruffly, swinging a large pack up onto his back, Aya soon copying his actions. He then stepped over to Ardat, handing him a folded map. "This will show you the safest routes in the area used by traders. Some of the old passes are not really used much anymore since all the spiders were chased into those territories a couple of years ago."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Aya gasped, stepping over to Hiei while digging in her pockets. Finally, she produced a small leather packet which she handed to him. "If you eat a pinch of this every morning, you will stop getting sick. The recipe's inside," she said, giving him a sympathetic smile. "It will go away eventually, I promise."

Hiei only nodded, uncomfortable under her kind gaze. The two demons began to leave, but as they reached the door, Hiei spoke.

"You never saw me."

"Of course not," Ino agreed.

"Why? What if we're asked?" Aya asked.

"No one must know of this," Hiei replied, a threat glinting in the depths of his red eyes.

"But—" Aya began, before Ino cut her off.

"We never saw you," Ino said firmly. "Either of you."

With that, the two demons made their exit, Ino gently guiding Aya to follow him.

OOO

THAT NIGHT…

Hiei had just settled into his comfy covers, all snuggly in his bed, with not a care in the world for now—

Ardat nudged Hiei again.

'Oh, for the love of…'

"What the hell do you want?" Hiei asked, cracking a tired eye open to glare death upon the intruder of his rest…and he had been so close to sleep too…

"There's only one bed," Ardat said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Hiei sat up a little and gave the room a precursory glance over, then said, "Yes, it does appear that way doesn't it? You have impeccable observational skills."

He then proceeded to flump back down into _his_ cushy mattress with a sigh, and pulled his blankets up a little higher to keep out the night's chill…It _was_ getting colder, wasn't it…

A shove alerted him that Captain Obvious wasn't done pursuing his 'campaign for comfort'.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Hiei asked, right eye twitching.

Another shove.

"Move over," Ardat whined, shoving Hiei a little harder.

With a huff, Hiei sat up and glared at Ardat with bloodshot eyes.

"No, I don't think I will. I think you'll be just fine, sleeping on the floor," Hiei said matter-of-factly.

A pause.

"But… but the floor's cold…and diiiiiirrrty," Ardat whined further, with a crinkle in his nose, reminding Hiei of a petulant child.

In fact, Hiei was reminded of a particular incident he had seen in a toy store in which a little girl had thrown a tantrum in the middle of the isle when her father had refused to buy her a specific doll.

Now, most people would feel pity for this cold, tired man shivering at his bedside, but not Hiei. No, he would not be swayed by Ardat's pathetic attempts to weasel his way into Hiei's bedcovers once more. He knew this tactic well. In fact, he had used it himself on occasion… 'Fools,' he thought with a reminiscent grin.

Ardat continued to give him the kicked puppy look.

"You know I would feel a lot more sorry for you if it had not taken me more effort than I think it should have just to sit up. I don't know… Maybe it has _something_ to do with the _fetus _growing in my newly discovered _UTERUS!_" Hiei replied to the look, his words quickly ascending into a shout.

He then proceeded to turn over and burrow further into his pillows than he had before.

…

"You didn't know you had a uterus?"

"Alright! That's it! Out! Outoutout_out!"_ Hiei bellowed, rising and shoving Ardat towards the door.

"But where will I sleep?" Ardat asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

"I don't particularly _care!_ Sleep on the ground!" Hiei raged, tossing the man-child into the hallway.

Hiei posed in the doorway, ready to slam it on Ardat's nose.

Ardat opened his big mouth, "So… does that mean that you didn't realize you have a vajay-jay?"

Hiei pursed his lips, slamming the door close, hearing a satisfying thump and yelp.

A muffled voice emerged from behind the door, "So we're leaving at first light then?"

"He's like a curse," Hiei muttered to himself while dead-bolting the door. He returned to his bed, sinking into the mattress with a heavy sigh. "What in the three worlds did I do to deserve this?"

Ironically enough, the victory mattress refused to grant him his desperate wish to sleep. The muffled monologue continued from beyond the door late into the night.

OOO

**Pages: 11**

**Word Count: 4,160**


End file.
